The Member Lowdown Newsletter - ILEA Columbus
The Member Lowdown
October 2026 Newsletter
The Lowdown from the Board - Avoid the Burnout
October is here, which means busy season is officially busy-ing.
The calendars are full, the events are happening, the emails are multiplying when no one is looking, and somehow everything feels urgent. This is usually the point in the year when adrenaline starts doing a little too much of the heavy lifting.
A few reminders for surviving the season without completely running on fumes:
Protect the basics. Eat lunch. Drink water. Go outside. We know—groundbreaking stuff.
Prioritize instead of panic-organizing. Not everything is a five-alarm fire, even when your inbox suggests otherwise.
Take the tiny break. Five quiet minutes between meetings, events, or conversations absolutely counts.
Ask for help before you reach the “I’m fine” stage. We all know that stage. You are, in fact, probably not fine.
Let the workday end. There will always be another email. It will still be there tomorrow. Promise.
Busy season comes with the territory, and sometimes it can even be part of the fun. The goal is just to make it through with a little energy, patience, and personality left for ourselves and each other.
From your ILEA Board: We’re right there with you—in the meetings, on the event floors, answering the late-night emails, and wondering when exactly October got this busy. Take care of yourselves, lean on your people, and remember: we’re all in this season together.
With caffeine, camaraderie, and maybe a calendar that needs an intervention.
— The ILEA Columbus Board
Your ILEA Columbus Board
2026-27
Chapter President Elaine McLoughlin-Overholt
President Elect Joy Walker
VP Programs Tori Easton
Director Mike Salone
Director Nick Hancart
Committee Bryan Wright
VP Membership Corey Perham
VP Marketing & Communications Cne' Mitchell
Director Jessica Miller Ingraham
Director at Large Adam Yezzi
Board Member Spotlight:
DJ Axcess
You may know him as Mike Salcone, but you may know him better as DJ Axcess.
For the past four years, Mike has opened the main stage at Abercrombie & Fitch’s annual The Challenge, a fundraising event at the company’s New Albany headquarters. He’s shared the stage with artists including Kygo, The Chainsmokers, Post Malone and, this year, Maroon 5.
For Mike, the opportunity is a testament to the power of doing great work and building genuine relationships. Nearly 15 years ago, he connected with a fellow DJ who eventually gave him opportunities to perform at Abercrombie & Fitch stores and district events. Years later, that relationship led to The Challenge. “I didn’t ask, I didn’t audition, I didn’t battle... I just did a great job and maintained a relationship,” Mike shared.
For Mike, ILEA is about surrounding yourself with people who are passionate about the industry and their community. “These are people who are passionate enough about their business to take time away from their work, family, and free-time to figure out how to make their community and industry better.” And that’s exactly what Mike brings to ILEA: connection, passion and a commitment to making our Columbus events community stronger.
Business Spotlight
Highlighting our outstanding members who contribute to the success of ILEA Columbus every single day.
tenacious spaces
Tenacious Spaces
Tenacious Spaces is an experience company here in Columbus. We design grazing tables that become the centerpiece of the room, overflowing with color, texture, and flavor, along with interactive food stations that get guests moving and mingling. We also offer full bar service with custom cocktail design (including our vintage Shasta mobile bar, which guests love), all tied together with décor touches that make the whole space feel intentional. We work with couples, private hosts, and corporate teams on everything from weddings to milestone parties to office celebrations.
We take the time to really get to know our clients and their story, then build it into everything we create. One of my favorites was a wedding for a couple we worked with who spent five years traveling the world together after college. We wove stories from their travels into the whole experience, designing four different food tables plus a full bar, adding custom design work throughout, and creating a passport-style menu that shared their story and walked guests through the food experience they were about to have. It was such a fun one!
Our goal is to be part of the story, not just part of the event. We love capturing the fine details through food, drinks, and design.
We've all been to that event where the colors, florals, lighting, and music are perfect, and then you get to the food and it's a row of metal chafing dishes in the back corner with the same menu you've had a hundred times. The bar is just there to pour drinks. I believe food and drinks deserve the same love as everything else in the room, in the presentation, the flavors, and the experience guests have around them.
*Have a promotion, award, incredible event, new project, or other industry win we should know about? We want to celebrate our members! Send your news our way for a chance to be featured in an upcoming ILEA Columbus newsletter.
ON DECK Upcoming ILEA events
ILEA Gives Back: Disco For Dayna
Tickets: Donation Starting at $50
Location: The Terrace 711 N High Street 43215
When: Thursday November 12th
Join ILEA Columbus for a very special ILEA Gives Back event, Disco for Dayna!
Dayna Sol is a beloved DJ and an integral part of the Columbus events community. As she courageously battles stage IV colon cancer and peritoneal metastatic disease, we’re coming together to show our love and support for one of our own.
Get ready for a night filled with music, dancing, and community as we celebrate Dayna in true disco fashion! Let’s surround her with the same joy and energy she has brought to our events community over the years.
Come for the disco. Stay for the community. Show up for Dayna.
January 7th
Save the Date: Financial Planning for Event Professionals
Kick off the new year with financial insights designed specifically for event professionals! Join us for an engaging conversation with a financial advisor, where you can ask your burning questions and gain practical advice on managing your finances, planning for the future, and setting yourself up for success in the year ahead.
Time, Location & Tickets: to be announced
Interested in hosting an upcoming ILEA Columbus event at your venue or becoming an event sponsor? We’re always looking for great spaces and event partners to help bring our programs to life, and we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at info@ileacolumbus.org to learn more.
Event Recaps
A Night at the Vue Columbus.
Last month, ILEA Columbus partnered with VUE Columbus for an evening designed to showcase the venue while bringing together members of Columbus’ event industry, corporate community, and local businesses.
Guests had the chance to explore VUE, reconnect with familiar faces, meet new ones, and—most importantly—spend an evening actually enjoying the company of the people we so often work alongside.
Gourmet Fresh kept everyone well-fed, BTTS provided bar service, and Bri with Azyllynn Studios gave guests the opportunity to update their professional headshots along the way.
The evening was filled with great conversation, new connections, and plenty of catching up. There’s something especially nice about revisiting a venue you haven’t experienced in a while—and ending a weekday surrounded by industry friends makes it even better.
A big thank you to VUE Columbus and all of our event partners for creating such a welcoming evening. This is what we love about ILEA: connecting with the people who make Columbus events happen.
Green Room Gossip: An Unsolicited Opinion of an Event Pro
We keep calling it busy season like there’s another season.
There isn’t.
There’s busy season. There’s slightly different busy season. There’s “we thought January would be quiet” season. And then suddenly it’s spring gala season, wedding season, summer event season, fall fundraiser season, holiday party season…
At this point, “busy season” isn’t a season.
It’s a business model.
ILEA Columbus Chapter
info@ileacolumus.org
